A Demanding Future

As of this writing, much ink is being spilled over Oracle's acquisition of Siebel for $5.9 billion. Many theories, strategies and predictions have come out of this recent move by Oracle but from my point of view, one of the most interesting revelations is the respect and admiration being generated by Oracle CEO Larry Ellison. A move as bold as this one usually comes with another price tag, one that involves a black cloud of industry doubt that never seems to go away. But at Oracle's recent OpenWorld conference, Ellison seemed to say all the right things to quell the reservations of many. Oracle will use service-oriented architecture technology, for instance, in its development of future products, which will allow companies to maintain existing ERP investments. Ellison also said the company's acquisition strategy looks to gain know-how as much as software. "It's not about trying to preserve code bases," he said. "It's about trying to preserve experience."

A Demanding Future
Clearly, Oracle is keeping an eye on the demanding and competitive future that lies ahead and by cherry-picking the best IT players, the company is making a bold statement about how it plans to meet the demands of customers. Likewise, Consumer Goods Technology is keeping an eye towards the future with the issue you hold in your hands. Our annual Tech Trends Study (p.21), created in conjunction with AMR Research, outlines all of the major IT categories by providing extensive analysis and predictions based on real-world feedback from today's leading consumer goods firms. Our cover story on Procter & Gamble (p.14) is also another forward-thinking piece that demonstrates an in-depth and very real example of what it means to play in the Demand Driven Supply Network. In short, P&G is going back to the basics of being a world class manufacturer by keeping a close eye on the demands of the consumer. Like Oracle, P&G's customer-centric strategy is the only way to compete in the future global economy.